the housing market strangely enough has been the bright spot in the struggling economy lately. we like that. on friday stocks finished the week mixed. we'll check the numbers for you. the dow stands this morning still below 14,000 after gaining eight points. the nasdaq dropped by six and the s&p 500 was off by about one and a half points. >>> prices at the gas pump are surging. in fact, aaa says that the average price for a gallon of price has risen for 32 straight days. now the national average is 43 cents or 13% more than back on january 17 when it started climbing. it stands at $3.73 a gallon. that's the most expensive ever for this time of year. in our area, we are averaging $3.77 a gallon this morning. >>> get ready to hear a lot about microsoft's latest twist on e-mail starting today. it is so confident it has the internet's best e-mail service. microsoft is about to spend at least $30 million sending its message across the united states. the barrage begins today for outlook.com as it goes head to head with google's g mail to welcome new users, microsoft is financing what